Instead of coffee this morning I got my heart rate up listening to an @NPR piece on rape on campus -- specifically, how hard it was to address "would-be victims". The story had a lot of lines I found problematic, so I tweeted about it.

Here's the exact lines: "As one law enforcement official put it, you wouldn't park your Lexus with the windows open and leave jewelry on the front seat. That would be foolish. In the same way, Smith says, students should be advised to use common sense."

They did not make the "bad neighborhoods" argument. That rhetorical argument (unlocked car, bad neighborhood) is used often when talking about rape, and I think it could be implied here, but I was wrong when I said they made the comparison.

3. It trotted out that old, tired, incorrect notion that short skirts and being too drunk turn men into rapists. @morningedition

Read this script: "The latest public awareness campaign from the White House focuses on bystanders. A slick new PSA urges students to step in when they see someone who might be in trouble. It follows other efforts aimed at would-be perpetrators, to make sure they understand what counts as consent. But when it comes to raising awareness among would-be victims, figuring out what to say is a lot more complicated."

Doesn't it make it sound like there are lots of ongoing efforts to stop rapists, and that getting women on board is the last piece of the puzzle?

6. It came on the heels of the devastating Rolling Stone story about rape at UVA, making the @morningedition report seem extra tone deaf.